Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Shreddy McShrederson

It's official. I'm unhappy with the current shape of my body. Blame it on the holidays, or birthdays, or a full moon, whatever. What is obvious to me is the full moon that shows itself when I bend over and, dude, it's gotta go.

I had been doing the P90X workout for a little while, although I wasn't doing it every day. Still, I saw results. Abs were starting to be more defined, pants were hanging loose, thighs getting a little smaller. Then we bought a house, and we moved, and we had to fix up said house. Needless to say, my workouts fell by the wayside and now my busy days no longer allow me the time needed to properly use P90X, even sporadically. So what have I been doing? Not a damn thing.

Until now.

I'm sure we're all familiar with who Jillian Michaels is, but if you're not, do a quick google search of her and you'll find out more than you probably wanted to know. The gist of it is, she's one of the most accomplished trainers for The Biggest Loser, and anyone who works with her and does what she says sees results. I'm ALL about results, so I thought I'd give it a shot.

I began by ordering her DVD, "The 30 Day Shred" on Amazon. Along with it, I also ordered one of her books, "Making The Cut". I ordered both before Christmas so I could read the book and figure out what I needed to do so I could begin after the first of the year. The book helped me to figure out how my body oxidizes food, and what foods are best for different oxidizers, based on how I answered a slew of multiple choice questions about food and how my body reacts to what I eat. I had never given much thought before to how my body reacts to what I eat, so reading the book really gave me a nudge to start listening to my body.

Is anyone else's body telling them to gorge on chocolate, and then wash it all down with an icy, cold, fountain diet coke? Just me?

I know, I know. Jillian would probably tell me that it is the diet coke that makes me want the chocolate that makes me want the diet coke. Vicious cycle, but such is the life of addiction. I'll admit it, I'm addicted to diet coke! I digress...

The workout is set up so that you'll progress over the 30 day cycle. You begin with workout Phase 1 and Jillian strongly encourages users to begin there and not skip a level. After the first ten days or so you move up to Phase 2, and then after ten more days, you're finally at Phase 3. Each workout takes about 20 minutes and flies by before you know it.

So, I started the workouts yesterday, January 4th, 2010. Exactly one day after my 30th birthday. The 30 Day Shred when I turn 30! How perfect is that? Here I am at my starting weight of 138:

Day 1 was tough, only because it's been a while since I've actually worked out beyond taking a dance class. It was thorough, challenging, and tiring. There is no downtime in this workout, no time to take even a sip of water, though it moves so quickly you don't really need it until the end. I completed the workout, rolled up my mat, put away my hand weights, and started cutting up veggies for the evening's dinner. I felt great and energized throughout the evening. Until I sat down for a bit. Standing back up proved to be difficult and my thigh muscles screamed at me any time I had to use them.

Today, the day after workout 1, I'm feeling the workout in more than just my legs. My arms and shoulders are sore, but in a good, make you feel strong, kind of way. My hip flexors are tight, so with each step I take in my high heels today I feel the muscles working and healing. What a wonderful feeling! I'm excited to see what changes this workout will bring, both physically and mentally. Hopefully I'll feel the same way in the upcoming days.

2 comments:

DUDE!! a) i love Jillian Michaels b) I do 30 day shred too and c) you will totally see results. I didn't go through hers in order because I started in pretty great shape, but I do one of them almost every day, sometimes two of them back to back and some days, all three. and I'm seeing results that I love. I am recommending this video to everyone who asks me how to get in shape. everyone can do 20 minutes a day. yay for you!

Thanks! It might sound silly, but I already FEEL the results. My arms feel more defined, and the belly not so bloated, too! Awesome that you're doing it, now I have a go to person if I have any questions :) And 2 or 3 a day?! Go girl!!!